Beginning in January, I will be removing my blog and posting on Facebook only. If we’re not Facebook friends but you still want to follow my posts, you can friend me here.

I took the boys to the Taylors library today since they had a teacher workday, and they literally gasped as we rounded the corner to the parking lot. This view is hidden behind the library building, and it’s stunning when you just happen upon it. As a girl that has lived at the beach my entire life, I can’t get enough of the view here!

So, on to Halloween…

It was important for me to get everything unpacked and settled as quickly as possible since living out of boxes just feels icky and is no fun at all, so we unpacked and organized all the important stuff in about 3 days. I hustled! And the next thing we did was decorate for Halloween, which is one of my and the family’s favorite holidays.

There are rats on the cabinets…

Bats in the foyer…

Spiderwebs and skulls in the trees…. (Yes, we decorated before we did some much-needed yard work. It was more fun!)

Pumpkins in the guest bathroom…

Glow-in-the-dark ghosts in the boys bathroom (forgot to get a photo of that one!)…

And a hodge podge of fun stuff going on on the front porch!

Our friends Danielle and Neal are coming to visit for Halloween, and we can’t wait! We’ve already got our costumes all planned out (well, almost all of us!) and are hitting up the thrift stores this weekend to pick up a few odds and ends for them.

We went to Halloween Express last week for ideas and tried on lots of masks. One of the funniest moments of the evening, though, was when Spence got his head stuck in a Homer Simpson mask. Luckily, the boys came to his rescue. Regretfully, I was too busy laughing.

That’s why I love him. He makes me laugh!

So all in all, it’s been an awesome two weeks!

After meeting with the doctor last week about Bella’s condition, we decided to move forward with the doctor’s suggested regimen which includes testing for cancers and lots of medicines to hopefully suppress her immune system enough so that she will start making red blood cells again. The tests for cancers have not come back yet, but we should know the results soon.

Her condition is truly a race against time. The medications take weeks to months to fully take effect, so it’s a constant battle between her body and the clock.

Still, there’s a ray of hope in all of this. Her body has maintained her blood cell count levels for an entire week which means her body is finally regenerating red blood cells, even if just a tiny bit. The doctor says that if it’s not cancer, if she starts regenerating red blood cells and if she makes it through the next 2-3 months, she could live a normal life. And since she’s young, that means she could be with us for a while to come.

So, please keep those prayers coming! We need them! She’s not out of the woods yet, but I feel like she’s slowly making progress and that is a huge comfort.

Bella’s really ill. She developed anemia, possibly as a result of an immune response to the medication she was on when we adopted her, and her prognosis is not good. We’re losing her, and my heart is broken. My family is grieving like we’d grieve over a family member, as she has truly shown us what a furry family member should be like. It’s only been 3 months since we adopted her and we’re having a hard time imagining life without her.

Spence and I have to go to the vet tomorrow to talk about options, to see if there’s a possibility of a last-ditch effort to save her life, to talk about how it fits into our budget, and to talk about euthanasia.

I cried all day yesterday, and my boys cried so hard last night when we broke the news of her prognosis to them that I wished I could take their little hearts and mend them myself. It hurts so much to see them hurt.

Please send prayers for Bella and prayers for the boys. Please send prayers for our family. This beautiful dog has brought so much joy to our lives these last few months and we’re holding on to the hope that she will somehow recover…

I love things that smell good (thus my love of perfumery) but I don’t splurge on things that smell good for my home because they’re just so expensive! But this week at CVS, I got 10 Airwick refills for my warmers, and CVS paid me $5 to buy them.

That’s $25 worth of beautiful smelly-good goodness for FREE plus money back.

My total OOP (out of pocket) for this shopping trip came to a whopping $4.72 and I received $30 worth of products. Not to mention the fact that I spent less than $100 at the store this week to feed my whole family and saved over 50% on my purchase. Even Spence is amazed!

Which brings me to a bigger point. Have you seen Morgan Spurlock’s 30 Days? It’s an older show but just started streaming on Netflix, so I’ve been catching up on all the episodes. There’s a great episode about minimum wage where Morgan and his fiance walk into the store to buy just a few odds and ends and they pay almost $40 for all of it.

It seems like such a waste, doesn’t it? Spence and I used to be able to do this – walk into a store and come out $40 poorer with two bags in our hands – and we thought it was normal. I’ve been spending about an hour more each week than I normally do couponing (about 2 hours a week total) but we’re saving so much more money. Watching this episode of 30 Days made me realize how much money I’m really saving for the family, whether I take the easy route and just do printable coupons or spend a bit more time and stockpile. Either way, it’s worth the time.

If you haven’t seen this entire episode of 30 Days, you should definitely watch it. It will make you think!

But stockpiling is where it’s at!

I’ve known how to “buy” coupons for a long while, but I haven’t made a habit of it. And since Wilmington’s newspaper doesn’t include a lot of great coupons, buying them really is the only way to take advantage of the best deals. The idea is, you buy a lot of what is on sale at rock bottom prices and buy enough of that item to live off of until it goes on sale again.

In addition to the stockpiling talk (which I already knew about, but needed a good reminder), Danielle gave me the low-down on CVS. She says, buy everything that is a money-maker or free even if you don’t need it, then buy the stuff you do need at a great price. Since it seems kinda wasteful to buy something that I don’t need, even if it costs me nothing, I asked her why.

So later you can donate or sell it. (Why did I not consider that before??)

She knows a lady that sells all of her freebie items in a yard sale each year and makes $3,000+. That seems pretty extreme but after my first shop, I can see that it’s possible.

Last week, I shopped at CVS and Harris Teeter. I’ve been couponing at Harris Teeter for a while, but CVS is new to me. I already love CVS! I bought all of these items there for $3. And the Carefree panty liners and the chocolate bar made me $2 – as in, I walked out of the store $2 richer, just for buying them. Ca-razy!

Then at Harris Teeter, I stockpiled a few items and bought this beauty.

It was a money-maker too: I made $2.50 just for buying it. And it came with a rebate on the box which can net me another $3.50. That’s a total of $6, just to buy a Febreeze warmer. I use Febreeze (and love it!) but if I didn’t, I would donate or sell it and use that extra $6 towards more groceries (or coffee!).

So now I’m hooked. I really love a good deal and saving money on groceries is a great way to save money for your family overall. If you want to get started, watch this video that a Rebound listener made for us a while back and explore the links on the page.

A few years ago, Spence and I started considering a move to another city but we weren’t sure exactly where. We have both lived in Wilmington for over 20 years and we were ready for a new scene, a lower cost of living and new opportunities, and we knew that we wanted to be near the mountains.

We considered Asheville for a long time, even applying for jobs and getting one acceptance, but it never felt right. The economy is Asheville is bad even in an overall good economy and we felt that our family wouldn’t florish there. We very briefly considered the NW US, but that was way too far away from the east coast for us. We wanted to be near our families. We looked at Charlotte, but that didn’t seem right either. Doors were shutting in our face time and time again, and we felt we would never find a place that felt like home.

We started hearing some good things about Greenville, SC and decided to explore the area further. It’s 45 minutes from the mountains, 1 hour from Asheville, 2-1/2 hours from Spence’s family in Atlanta, 5 hours from Wilmington and 8 hours from my mom and grandfather in Florida. It was a sweet spot with a great local economy and a much lower cost of living, so we decided to visit.

When we stepped foot in downtown Greenville, we knew this was a place that we could call home for many years to come. It reminded us a lot of Wilmington, but more of what Wilmington could be in 10-15 years. It was lush, green, beautiful and bike-friendly. We spent a lot of time getting to know the city and completely fell in love. Greenville was perfect.

We prayed a lot about the move. We know God has some great things in store for us and He shut plenty of doors in the other cities we had looked at. We prayed that if He wanted us in Greenville that He would open doors for us and consequently, if it wasn’t meant to be we prayed that He would shut the doors to Greenville quickly.

After months of preparation and many open doors, we finally secured a place this weekend in a great neighborhood in one of the best school districts in the entire state. Because housing is so much cheaper, we’re able to afford more house for our dollar so our new home is roomier and much more comfortable. The boys will have their own rooms, and we won’t feel like we’re living on top of one another all the time. Plus it has all of the things I’ve missed these last few years – a formal dining room, a FROG, a garage, and a backyard.

And the schools… I couldn’t be happier about the schools! The schools that the boys will be in are rated 9-10 stars on GreatSchools.org and are highly sought-after in Greenville. In Wilmington, it seems that school districts are laid out according to the price of housing with the best schools in neighborhoods that we can’t afford. Although the boys are in good schools now, the neighborhood we live in is a sacrifice for that schooling and we’re not happy there. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be moving to a family-friendly neighborhood, full of kids for the boys to make friends with, in an excellent school district.

When we started the Dave Ramsey plan, we knew that we wanted to provide a better life for our family and moving to Greenville is a step in that direction. Not only will we be able to live more comfortably and have new opportunities, but I really feel that this choice will create a better quality of life for the boys, as children and as adults. I’m so happy that three years of searching for a place to call home has finally come to an end. Now, on to the packing…

Dear Photograph is an amazing community-driven art blog. “Take a picture of a picture from the past in the present.” I love nostalgia, and there are many photographs I’d love to do this with if I ever make it down to Tampa again one day.

Speaking of nostalgia, Young Me / Now Me is another community-driven art blog where people recreate old photos. Some of them are just okay, but there are some that are REALLY good. I’m trying to talk my brother into recreating this one with me…

If you have nice clothes that the kiddos have outgrown, you can trade them on ThredUp. And if you’re in need of some almost new kids clothes, ThredUp is a great place to purchase them. I bought some back-to-school clothes for my oldest this week, and it came out to be cheaper per piece than the thrift store. Score!

Paperback Swap is a great place to swap books. I’m a library geek myself, but there’s a few things I want to read that my library doesn’t have on their shelves. For those books, I use Paperback Swap. I’ve got a few swaps under my belt, and the books work out to around $2.41 each which is less inexpensive than a 1 cent book on Amazon when you factor in the shipping costs.

If you like to read, GoodReads is incredible. I keep track of my reading list there, as well as connect with authors that I really like.

I started reading Her.meneutics a while ago, and it’s now my favorite way to gain a Christian woman’s perspective on topics being considered and discussed in modern culture. The recent article on Bert and Ernie is a great example of what you’ll find here.

I’ve been reading more style blogs lately, and Girl With Curves is one of my favorites. The name says it all!

And Pinterest, oh Pinterest. I signed up a while back and didn’t use it much, but I’ve been on a real Pinterest kick lately. I love cataloging the items I find on the internet and discovering others’ picks as well, like this farmhouse table that Spence has promised to make for me soon, or this iced coffee recipe that is better than Starbucks (seriously!), or this free Amy Butler bag pattern, or this inspiring graffiti, or… the list goes on and on.

What are your favorite online things?

She’s like my third child. For real.

One of my favorite things about her is that she “talks” to you to get your attention, and it always brings a smile to my face. If she could speak, I wonder what she would be saying when she does this?

Luckily, she works closely with a no-kill shelter and offered to take Snow in, rehabilitate him, place him in a foster home and then adopt him out to a family more suitable for him. In exchange, we were able to adopt a dog from the shelter that would be a better fit for our family and our trainer suggested three dogs in particular for us that were good with both kids and cats, her top pick a boxer mix named Cheyenne. We viewed Cheyenne on the shelter’s website, and she truly had a face only a mother could love.

Keeping an open mind, we went out to meet the dogs today, taking the advice of our trainer to not choose a dog based on how adorable they were but to instead let a dog pick our family. We met Cheyenne first, and immediately she fit in perfectly. She loved on the boys right away, playing with them and giving them bear hugs. She let them walk her on the leash and followed us around as we looked at other dogs. We knew right away that she was perfect.

After an hour of spending time with our trainer’s three choices, we chose Cheyenne.

We said goodbye to Snow today and adopted a dog that has instantly become part of the family. She’s a little sugar booger and we can’t be more thrilled to have her with us. It was a sad day, but a happy one too. Over the next few weeks, it will be fun to get to know her better as she becomes more integrated with our family.

Since Cheyenne was a new name for her (they weren’t sure what her name was before), we renamed her Bella. And she’s already a Daddy’s girl.

They even kinda look alike, don’t you think?

I’m looking forward to this new adventure, although it’s also a bit scary. I’ll be working for a much smaller company, but one with incredible vision and an entrepreneurial heart. I’m not a risk-taker by nature, but I know that growing personally and professionally takes a willingness to change and to take a risk. So this week, I took the leap.

This was an encouragement to me as I made this decision:

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

I can’t wait to see how it all turns out!

Yesterday, we spent some time with my family at my aunt’s pool, and the boys spent over 4 hours playing in the water and just hanging out with each other. They hardly fought, instead simply enjoying each other’s company. Without distractions, they were free to use their imagination and be themselves, and it was a lot of fun to watch.

Last night, we got home and snuggled up for a movie night. In the end, it turned out to be one of those moments where the boys dished out their lives and Spence and I just listened. We interjected here and there with our thoughts, but we let the boys talk about everything on their minds and it was wonderful. As a mother, these are the moments I cherish and that I hope continue as the boys grow older into adulthood.

My life is busy, no doubt. And there are times that I reply to them with “yeah?” and “uh huh” because my mind is full of other, less meaningful things. Taking the time to listen is worth it, and last night was a reminder to be more present when the boys talk to me. Life is full of noisy distractions, but moments like this are found in the quiet that lies underneath. What a joyous experience!

Today, I pulled out my canning supplies and tried a new recipe for pickled okra. Pickled okra is, by far, Spence’s favorite food in the whole wide world. He loves the local pickled okra from the farmer’s market and spotted some in Greenville that he wanted to buy but at $7 a pint, it’s super-expensive. I decided to try my hand at it today so I could surprise him with it when he got home this evening.

I started with a good recipe – Grandma Oma’ Pickled Okra from AllRecipes.com – and good okra from the HT.

I also used freshly peeled garlic (not called for in the recipe, but who makes pickled okra without garlic?) and dried cayenne I put up last season.

After sterilizing the jars, I crammed them full of okra.

The recipe makes 3 pints but I only had 2 quart jars, and forgot that – duh, winning – 3 pints does not equal 2 quarts. As a result, I had to go back and make another batch of the okra juice.

But in the end, it was all good. I ended up with some pretty pickled okra, and Spence is going to be thrilled when he comes home and sees it in the fridge.

Since today is all about extreme homemaking, I finished up by making a strawberry pie for dessert tonight.

I love days like today.

Seriously, is there any other way?

…are officially retired. They just don’t fit anymore!

Five months in, almost 20 pounds down. Feels good.

I answered, “So, I can be a better wife and mother, and be a better person.”

He looked at me most sincerely and said, “But Mom, you’re already a good mother.”

We moms work hard to give our children the best opportunities, to teach them life’s lessons with love, and to make them feel cherished and worthy. To be affirmed by our children that we’re doing a pretty good job is the best gift a mother could receive.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Yesterday, my manager Sydney and I attended the 2011 Chick-fil-a Leadercast at the beautiful Port City Community Church here in Wilmington. I had originally heard about Leadercast from Kelly Cain’s amazing blog and when I heard Seth Godin, John Maxwell, Sir Ken Robinson and Dave Ramsey were all lined up to speak, I knew I had to attend. I told my manager about the event, and we decided to go together. It was an incredible experience, worth much more than the up-front investment. What I learned yesterday will certainly change my life.

There were so many takeaways that I couldn’t quite possibly cover them all here. The most profound idea from yesterday that resonated throughout many of the presentations was the idea of living authentically, finding your purpose and living it. I’ve titled my blog “A Life of Purpose” and I strive to live an authentic life but I’m still in the midst of finding my one true purpose, the thing that gets me out of bed in the morning and drives me to do the things I feel I could never possibly do simply because I know they have to be done to fulfill a higher purpose.

That’s a lot to consider, isn’t it? Dave Ramsey used Truett Cathy as an example. Chicken is not just his business, but the vehicle he uses to live his purpose.

Dave Ramsey said that a higher calling matters because you’ll play harder when you play for someone bigger than you. Muhtar Kent said that you must have humility, not arrogance. Suzy Welch said to stop being reactive in your decision making and focus instead on your values. Mack Brown said to stop focusing on your past and instead plan for great things in your future.

Live an authentic life. Fulfill your purpose.

Since my notes from the event look a lot like chicken scratch, I thought I’d share these beautiful handwritten notes from Mike Rohde. Take the time to go through them. You just might pick up an idea or two that sparks something in you, too.

Baby bunnies!

The morning started at 6:30am with squeals of delight as the boys found their Easter baskets, then we read the Easter Story together as a family. What a wonderful way to start the day, remembering the sacrifice made for us so many years ago.

Happy Easter!

We decided to dye brown eggs this year, and I really like how they turned out. They are all earth-toned and not too bright. The boys agree that they taste fantastic, and we had a lot of fun dying them together.

While dying the eggs, I asked Spence to run to the store to see if they had any Easter cookie cutters. After unsuccessfully trying 3 stores, he finally asked a manager where he could find the cookie cutters. The manager explained that prepackaged cookies practically wiped out the need for cookie cutters, so they longer carry them. How crazy is that? Do people really not make cookies from scratch anymore?

I used this recipe – the Best Rolled Sugar Cookies – and let the dough rest in the fridge for an hour like the recipe called for. However after more than an hour in the fridge, the dough was still too sticky to roll out. I tried flouring it, powder-sugaring it, even placing it in between parchment and wax paper to no avail. It was too sticky to user cookie cutters anyway!

I finally rolled it up in wax paper and stuck it in the freezer for 30 minutes. I then cut it into egg-shaped slices with hopes that the cookies would be at least a little Easter-like. Luckily, the dough was very forgiving. What went on the sheets looking very questionable flattened out to cute little oval sugar cookies that were perfect for decorating.

While the cookies were baking, I whipped up some sugar cookie icing in a variety of colors except for red. (My oldest had decided to use all of it in a prior volcano experiment.) After the cookies cooled, the boys went to work creating their culinary masterpieces.

Aren’t they gorgeous? We’re taking them over to my Mema’s for Easter dinner tomorrow. Everyone is going to be in for quite a treat!

53 pounds to be exact. I’ve lost 17 of those so far.

June 1st is in 6 weeks and it’s time for me to push myself again, to commit to a challenge and relish in the accomplishment when I successfully complete it. I want to lose another 10 pounds by then, which will position me at the halfway point to my goal.

10 pounds by June 1st. It’s a stretch, for sure, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

And it’s official! On June 26th, Spence, my sister-in-law Sharon and I will be walking the Do Life 5k in Atlanta. This will be the first time I’ve done a 5k since my 27th birthday, and it will be quite an accomplishment for me. I have a personal weight goal I’d like to hit by this date and if I make it, I will walk this 5k around the same weight that I walked/jogged the last one.

I will also be at my lowest weight in 6 years.

So here’s to the challenge, cause it’s swimsuit time ya’ll!

I’m knitting this up in Knit Picks Andean Silk which is a step up from my normal yarn choices. I’ve always gone for cheaper brands and fibers (acrylics, wool blends) since they’re easier on the budget, but I’m starting to understand the importance of good materials as an investment in yourself and your craft. Andean Silk is an incredibly fluffy alpaca, silk and merino wool blend that is relatively inexpensive. I can’t wait to wear it.

After 8 years, I have also retired my Denise Interchangeables. They have been with me through many knitting projects and were my first big knitting buy. However, the plastic tips and big cords are more suited for a beginner knitter and I have been very frustrated for the past year or two with their limitations. I finally purchased a set of the Knit Picks Options with nickel-plated tips for my birthday and oh, my… I had no idea what I was missing. Knitting with these is like driving a sports car after being stuck with a station wagon for years. They’re slick, fast and seamless; just what I was looking for.

This project is going to be a fun knit, I just know it!

I put this song on a mix CD for my hubby way before we ever stepped foot into a church. When I heard it on the radio yesterday, it made me think of that moment. I had made him a CD full of songs of hope because we were in a place of desperation. We were broke, broken, hopeless and on the verge of disaster. I wanted to make him a CD that would cheer him up. I had no idea how God would change our lives after that moment… couldn’t even comprehend it.

This weekend, we planted flowers.

And basil and peppers.

And tomatoes.

And we added oil to our tiki lamps.

Then we enjoyed the rest of our day. It was awesome.

Did I mention that today is my and Spence’s anniversary?

We took this self portrait on the back porch. You may think that taking a photo this stunning was totally easy, but you would be mistaken. There were many outtakes.

Yay for us!

In February, I posted about a project I had on the needles, a face mask for my Dad’s motorcycle ride down to Daytona Bike Week. I finally have some finished photos to share!

I love how it turned out. The weather was still chilly, and it worked perfectly as a barrier from the wind and cold.

Now, on to a new project… This one goes on the needles next week.

One thing is for sure… losing weight is much harder than gaining it. Four pounds doesn’t sound like a lot, but those pounds took a lot of effort to lose. It really puts things in perspective for me. I don’t want to gain them back since it’s taking forever to get rid of them!

My birthday was last week and my grandmother gave me some money with the condition that I buy something with it just for me. So I bought a dress. I went shopping with my inspiration board in mind and picked this one out.

I almost bought a cheaper one that I didn’t like nearly as much, but I’m so glad that I didn’t. I’m used to buying bargains, but sometimes that means settling for things I wouldn’t normally wear. I’m trying to break that habit (within reason, of course!). I bought something nice that could easily be altered as I get smaller, and I don’t regret it at all. I love the way it looks on me.

I have also invested in a gym membership. My goal is to work out 3 days a week to start, then increase my workouts to 4, then 5 days a week. I’m really enjoying it so far.

Dump Your Plump ended and I didn’t win, but because I hit my weight loss goal I did get to split the pot! I walked away $13 richer – about $1 for each week.

All in all, March was a great month!

The guy behind the video is Ben Davis and even though I’ve only been reading his blog for a few weeks, I’m already obsessed with his Do Life movement.

The only thing between a start and a finish line is the courage to start at all.

Oh, yes. Bring on the tears.

Since seeing the video, I’ve started to incorporate exercise into my routine and next week, I’m signing up for a gym membership. The thing is, I feel so much better when exercise is a part of my overall journey towards health, but I don’t think I would have started if this video didn’t inspire me to do just that.

So Ben is doing this Do Life 5k tour where he visits cities all across the US and runs a 5k with his readers, and I’m actually thinking about going. If I do decide to go, it will be around the end of June which gives me roughly 3 months to prepare. I know I can be down another 15 pounds in 3 months, so I’m thinking that it’s definitely doable. And if I do it, I’m doing it in a pink tee shirt.

Speaking of poundage, the Dump Your Plump challenge ended today and although I didn’t come near to winning the iPad, I am down a total of 16.1 pounds since January 5th. How cool is that?

I’m so excited about what is to come. These 16 pounds are just a start, and I can’t wait to see where I end up in another 3 months, 6 months, the end of the year…

All it took was the courage to start.

But then it hits me: At this rate, I’ll be down 60 pounds when I celebrate Christmas this year.

Weight loss can be a total mind game. If you’re not careful, you can allow your progress to feel like a setback.

The fact is, there will be ups and downs during my weight loss journey. I won’t lose weight as quickly as others will. But that doesn’t mean I won’t  be successful. It doesn’t mean I won’t reach my goal.

Sometimes, you just have to stay out of your own way and make it happen.

Mizrahi says that a timeless piece that you love the way you look in is worth more than many pieces that aren’t flattering or that make you feel less than beautiful. My self-confidence is the casualty of my cheap wardrobe.

It’s too early to start investing in a new wardrobe, though. I’m still losing weight and working my way out of debt. But I can start thinking about the future, and that means reinventing my style.

To do this, Mizrahi says that you should create an inspiration board to determine what colors, shapes and eras influence your style. I decided to make mine digitally on Pinterest, and this is what it looks like.

Right away, I notice that this looks nothing like my current wardrobe. If you looked in my closet today, you’d see a lot of safe clothes in mom-appropriate shapes and slimming dark colors. When I saw my inspiration board in its entirety, I realized that I had been getting it all wrong. My size has limited my choices and my ability to feel confident enough to pull a daring look off. My true style includes vintage shapes, pretty ruffles, muted colors, girlie details, even a bit of an edge. My body has held me back from fully embracing my eclectic style.

Don’t get me wrong… Mizrahi covers fashion for the full-figured woman in his book as well and I have to say, his subject is completely adorable but she exudes a confidence that I don’t have yet. Mizrahi mentions that he’s never met a woman that doesn’t think she’s fat, but I do think there is a difference between owning it and letting it get to you. I know my comfort level, and I’m past it. To pull off your own style, you have to own what God gave you.

As I lose weight, I’ll be on the lookout for pieces that can size down with me – wrap dresses, skirts, easy-to-alter blouses – and will still buy on sale while working Dave Ramsey’s plan. But during this time, I’ll also be developing my sense of style – learning what I like, what I don’t like, what flatters my figure and what’s too trendy to waste time on. Then once I’m at my goal weight, I imagine that I’ll start building a wardrobe that reflects my own personal style. I can’t wait.